Ashlyn Mercier, a Westborough, Massachusetts police officer, is competing in the Miss America competition at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida. As the first police officer to be named Miss Massachusetts, Mercier aims to raise awareness about her initiative, Nick's Courage: One Smile Goes a Mile, which brings positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses. Approximately 14% of law enforcement officers are female, but Mercier hopes to show that women can pursue multiple passions simultaneously without conforming to traditional expectations. With the support of her police department, Mercier is motivated by the positive impact she's having on young girls and fellow officers inspired by her story.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Ashlyn Mercier has spent her career wearing a badge.
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Mercier → spend → badge
Now, she’s hoping to wear one of the country’s most coveted tiaras.
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she → hop → tiaras
The Westborough, Massachusetts, police officer is competing in Miss America.
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officer → compete → America
The final competition takes place today at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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competition → take → Beach
Mercier is also the first police officer to be named Miss Massachusetts.
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Mercier → name → ?
“I think there’s not one single look for what a female police officer is supposed to look like,” Mercier told Fox News Digital.
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Mercier → think → Digital
“And if we say that there is, that’s just wrong because, at the end of the day, yes, female law enforcement officers only make up approximately 14% of the force in the United States, but we don’t have to look a certain way.
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we → say → States
“People are so multifaceted, women are so multifaceted and I’m just trying to show young girls that they can chase all of their dreams simultaneously,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → try → dreams
“They don’t have to pick one thing and make that their entire identity.”
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that → have → thing
Mercier hopes to raise awareness of her cause, Nick’s Courage: One Smile Goes a Mile, named after her younger brother, Nicholas, a two-time pediatric cancer survivor.
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Smile → hop → brother
The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
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initiative → aim → illnesses
In 2025, she took a year off from pageant competition to follow in her father’s footsteps and attend the police academy.
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she → take → academy
“I didn’t know if I would ever come back and compete,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → know → ?
“I was afraid of what other people would think if I chased both of those dreams at the same time.
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I → think → time
I also had this dream of becoming a police officer.
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I → have → dream
But what I came to realize is that I can’t worry about what other people think.
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people → come → what
I’ve got to focus on myself.
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I → get → myself
And it ended up working out for me.”
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it → end → me
Mercier said the Westborough Police Department has been cheering her on as she balances the competition with her work as an officer.
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she → say → officer
Fox News Digital reached out to the department for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
“I’m really fortunate that they have been so incredibly supportive,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → ’m → ?
“I work for an amazing department, and my co-workers have supported me 100% from the moment I told them I was competing as Miss Massachusetts to now being at Miss America.
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I → work → America
They’ve shown up to my sendoff parties.
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They → show → parties
They’ve helped me with my fundraising efforts.
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They → help → efforts
They’ve sent me good luck texts.
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They → send → texts
“It’s really just an honor to be surrounded by people who uplift me,” she said.
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she → ’ → me
“It really continues to help motivate me to move forward.”
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It → continue → me
Mercier said her career in law enforcement doesn’t give her an advantage on the Miss America stage.
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career → say → stage
She’s one of the delegates representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, each hoping to stand out.
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each → ’ → Columbia
Still, other officers have taken notice.
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officers → take → notice
“I’ve had thousands of female law enforcement officers across the country commenting on my posts saying that they’re rooting for me and that they’re inspired by me,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → have → me
“There are also young girls saying that they want to get into law enforcement, and they’re inspired by my story.
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they → be → story
And then I serve my community in Westborough every single day in my capacity as a police officer, but I also get to serve my community in the role as Miss Massachusetts.
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I → serve → Massachusetts
“Those two things are what is so important about the Miss America opportunity,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → say → opportunity
“Yes, we get to dress up.
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we → get → ?
Yes, we get to wear pretty gowns and look beautiful.
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we → get → gowns
And if you look at it like that, you can see and draw a lot of parallels between Miss America and between my role as Officer Mercier.”
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you → look → Mercier
Police work has also given Mercier skills she can use in the competition.
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she → give → competition
She said she’s comfortable communicating with different people and staying calm in nerve-wracking situations.
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she → say → situations
But one challenge remains.
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challenge → remain → ?
…and 18 more, not listed.
